777 : Across The Abyss

Being as inundated with what seems like a constant flash flood of new music, it’s rare that I personally get as excited for a release as I have been from this band. As a huge fan of Occult Rock from it’s beginnings with groups such as the mighty Coven, to the current crop of outstanding contemporary bands like Sabbath Assembly, Blood Ceremony, and Lucifer. The marriage of well crafted Hard Rock with strong, female vocals never fails to grab my attention. One of the pinnacles of this sound for myself, and I’m sure for a lot of you, being the Danish masters The Devil’s Blood, the band that undisputedly held the throne until guitarist and vocalist Selim Lemouchi’s suicide in 2014.

And that’s a band 777 are often compared to, not as imitators, but as the heirs to the crown in both content and musicianship. If not already apparent by their chosen nomen, the group delves deep in the Thelemic mysterious put forth by Aleister Crowley. While that could appear as a clever hoax from lesser bands, 777 emanates with an understanding far beyond the internet occultists.

O Thou who draws the sword!
The blue light is on board!
The bark of million years
Across the aqueous Abyss

As beautifully as this poetry is articulated, it would still fall flat without the musical prowess to match. 777 delivers in spades. Stunning harmonies and rich, feminine vocals transport the listener not unlike Ra navigates Matet through the dawning day. Like fine wine, it needs attention, study and undivided attention.

And the physical release itself is thing of beauty. In these days of thousands of songs at our fingertips, aesthetics are sometimes an afterthought. Not here, the record comes housed in a golden screenprinted, gatefold, heavy stock cardboard sleeve. The single-sided 7″ also features a gorgeous screenprinting, also in gold. It’s an object d’art fit for The Great Beast himself.

As stated above, it’s not often I’d take the time to make you, dear reader, aware of a release consisting of a single song, if I didn’t feel as strongly as I do about it, as well as the band as a whole. I have no idea when we can expect a full-length, but I will wear the grooves off of this in the meantime. “Always leave them wanting more”, as the saying goes. 93!